---
title: How Do I Create a Commercial Cleaning Checklist?
description: Set up a commercial cleaning checklist in Clean Smarts—add tasks, choose schedules and scoring, and get cleaners started at your locations.
---
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# How Do I Create a Commercial Cleaning Checklist?
## Create your first commercial cleaning checklist in Clean Smarts: name it, add tasks, set schedules and visibility, then assign it to locations.
A checklist is the set of tasks your cleaners check off and your inspectors score. In Clean Smarts you build a checklist once, add as many tasks as you need, and then assign it to any location—so a single "Office Nightly" checklist can power dozens of buildings at the same time.
This guide walks through creating a checklist, adding your first task, configuring each task's schedule, scoring, photo, and visibility settings, and updating many tasks at once with **Bulk Operations**.
**Applies to:** Account administrators and managers who manage quality. You need the **Checklist (Company)** module on your role to open **Quality \> Checklists**. Task completion photos are part of the **Expert Plan**—see [Require photos](https://support.cleansmarts.com/how-do-i-create-a-commercial-cleaning-checklist#require-photos-and-set-a-scoring-template) below.
---
### Before You Start
- You only create a checklist **once**. After it's built, assign it to as many locations as you want, and any edit you make flows to every location using it.
- Tasks live **inside** a checklist. Create the checklist first, then add tasks to it.
- Want photos required on certain tasks? That feature is part of the **Expert Plan**. If the photo slider won't move past 0%, your plan doesn't include it yet.
---
### Create the Checklist
1. In the left-hand menu, open **Quality** and select **Checklists**.
2. Click **Add Checklist** in the top-right corner.
Checklists list on Quality \> Checklists with the Add Checklist button in the top-right corner ***Quality \> Checklists*** *— click* ***Add Checklist*** *in the top-right to start a new checklist.*
1. Enter a name in the **Checklist name** field (for example, "Office Nightly Clean").
2. Click **Save**.
Create a New Checklist dialog with the Checklist Name field filled in and Save button *Enter a name in* ***Checklist Name/Description****, then click* ***Save****.*
Clean Smarts drops you straight into the new checklist's detail page, ready for tasks. The checklist starts empty—that's expected.
To rename a checklist later, open it, edit the **Checklist name** field at the top, and click **Save Changes**.
---
### Add Your First Task
1. From inside the checklist, click **Add Task** in the top-right corner. A panel slides in from the right.
2. In **Task Description**, type what the cleaner should do (for example, "Mop floors"). This is the wording your team sees, and it's translated automatically into each user's preferred language.
3. Configure the three settings sections described below.
4. Click **Save Task**.
Add Task panel showing Task Description and collapsed Schedule Configuration, Requirements & Scoring, and Display Settings sections *The* ***Add Task*** *panel — enter* ***Task Description****, then expand the three configuration sections below.*
The new task appears in the checklist table with columns for **Task Name**, **Frequency**, **Scoring Template**, **Visibility**, and **Require Photo**, so you can see each task's setup at a glance.
#### Set the Schedule
Open **Schedule Configuration** to control which days the task appears.
- **Frequency** defaults to **Daily**, so the task shows up every day. Switch it to **Weekly**, **Monthly**, or **Yearly** to have it appear less often—for example, "Weekly" lets you pick specific days, and "Monthly" lets you pick a week and day of the month.
- To control when the task first starts appearing, turn on **Manually set task recurrence start date** and choose a start date. Leave it off to start right away.
#### Require Photos and Set a Scoring Template
Open **Requirements & Scoring** to set proof-of-work and how the task is graded.
- **Require live photos for completion** is a slider from 0% to 100%, in steps of 10. At **100% (Always)**, a photo is required every time the task is done. At **50%**, Clean Smarts randomly asks for a photo about half the time. **0% (Never)** means no photo is required. Photos must be taken live in the mobile app, so cleaners can't upload an old picture.
- **Scoring Template** controls how inspectors grade the task. **Default** is the built-in scale that ships with Clean Smarts. To grade a task on your own scale—pass/fail, a 10-point scale, or a weighted item—pick a custom template instead. You create those under **Quality \> Inspection Scoring Templates**. For how the math works, see [How are inspection scores calculated?](https://support.cleansmarts.com/how-are-inspection-scores-calculated?hsLang=en-us)
Requirements & Scoring section expanded showing the photo slider and Scoring Template dropdown ***Requirements & Scoring*** *— set* ***Require Live Photos For Completion*** *and choose a* ***Scoring Template****.*
#### Choose Where the Task Appears
Open **Display Settings** to decide who sees the task.
Under **Visible**, pick one:
| Option | Where the task shows up |
| --- | --- |
| **As a cleaner task only** | The cleaner's daily checklist in the mobile app |
| **As an inspection item only** | Only when a supervisor runs an inspection |
| **Both as cleaner task and inspection item** | Cleaners check it off *and* inspectors can score it |
**Default visibility** sets whether the task is **Visible by default** or **Hidden by default** at locations. Leave it on **Visible by default** unless you plan to turn the task on only at specific locations.
Display Settings section expanded showing Visible radio options and Default Visibility ***Display Settings*** *— pick who sees the task under* ***Visible****, then set* ***Default Visibility****.*
---
### Manage Tasks After You Add Them
Each task row has a menu (the **⋯** button) with everything you need:
- **Edit** — change any of the task's settings.
- **Add Task Before** / **Add Task After** — insert a new task at an exact spot in the list.
- **Duplicate** — copy a task you've already set up, then tweak it.
- **Batch Location Visibility** — show or hide that one task at specific locations.
- **Delete** — remove the task. Deleting can't be undone, so confirm you really want it gone.
Task row menu open showing Edit, Add task before/after, Duplicate, Batch Location Visibility, and Delete *Open the* ***⋯*** *menu on any task row for edit, insert, duplicate, location visibility, and delete options.*
To reorder tasks, drag a row up or down. The new order is what cleaners and inspectors see.
---
### Update Many Tasks at Once
When several tasks need the same schedule, scoring template, photo rule, or visibility setting, use **Bulk Operations** on the checklist detail page instead of opening each task.
1. Open the checklist from **Quality \> Checklists**.
2. In the toolbar, open **Bulk Operations** and choose what you want to change:
- **Edit Schedule** — one frequency and day pattern for every selected task
- **Edit Scoring** — scoring template and/or photo requirement
- **Edit Visibility** — cleaner vs. inspection visibility and/or default visibility
3. Check the tasks to update. Use the header checkbox for all visible rows. Search first if you only want a filtered set.
4. Click the matching action button (**Edit Schedule**, **Edit Scoring**, or **Edit Visibility**).
5. Set only the fields you want to change. For scoring and visibility, turn on each setting's switch before you edit it—anything left off stays unchanged on those tasks.
6. Click **Apply to N tasks**.
Bulk edits change only the fields for that operation. Descriptions and display order are never rewritten by bulk schedule, scoring, or visibility updates. Drag-to-reorder is paused while you're in selection mode—click **Cancel** when you're done selecting.
For day-of-week schedule patterns in more detail, see [How do I assign a task to appear on a specific day of the week?](https://support.cleansmarts.com/how-do-i-assign-a-task-to-appear-on-a-specific-day-of-the-week?hsLang=en-us)
---
### Tips and Troubleshooting
**My new tasks aren't showing up for cleaners.** Check the task's **Display Settings**. If it's set to **As an inspection item only**, cleaners won't see it on their checklist—only inspectors will. Also confirm the checklist is assigned to that location (use **Manage Assigned Locations** from the checklist list, or **Bulk Assign Locations** when you're updating several checklists at once).
**The photo slider won't go above 0%.** Required photos are part of the **Expert Plan**. If you need them, reach out about upgrading your plan. The same plan gate applies when you change photo requirements through **Bulk Operations \> Edit Scoring**.
**I need this task at only a few locations.** Add the task normally, then use **Batch Location Visibility** on that task to hide it everywhere except where you want it. Editing the checklist still updates every location, so this is the safest way to scope a single task.
**I want a fresh checklist that's almost identical to one I have.** From **Quality \> Checklists**, open the row menu on the existing checklist and choose **Copy**, then edit the copy.
**Bulk apply didn't change a setting I expected.** For **Edit Scoring** and **Edit Visibility**, each setting has its own switch. If the switch is off, that field is left alone on the selected tasks—even if you changed another setting in the same panel.
---
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